Ukraine’s European allies should appoint one representative for talks on ending the war with Russia, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday. According to it, the entire European Union cannot be represented by smaller groups of states, reports TASR according to the Reuters agency.
On Sunday, the leaders of Britain, France and Germany (an informal security alliance known as the E3) met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and announced their support for his proposal for ceasefire talks with Russia.
A united European voice
As an outspoken supporter of Ukraine, Meloni said that Europe must communicate with Moscow in order to stop the conflict, but that no closed group has the authority to speak for everyone.
“I have long supported the need to find a figure of authority who will be entrusted with the trust and mandate of all (EU) member states to represent Europe,” Meloni told the Italian parliament ahead of next week’s EU summit and G7 leaders’ meeting.
She added that efforts for peace in Ukraine require greater coordination between Europe and the United States, which she said is “not always an easy but necessary challenge.”
Criticism from Poland
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has already criticized his country’s absence from talks with Zelensky in London this week. He announced that the next meeting on the topic of Ukraine and with the participation of Warsaw and Rome will take place soon.
In her speech, Meloniová also talked about the war between the US and Iran, which raises the prices of energy raw materials and burdens the world economy. According to the head of the Italian government, Europe should be ready to ease sanctions against Tehran if it shows a willingness to negotiate.
Sanctions against Iran
“If Tehran instead continues down the wrong path, threatening free navigation, carrying out attacks, supporting armed groups and violating international commitments, then the European Union must be ready to increase pressure, including new targeted measures,” she said.
